A New Challenge

Well, I thought I had a geeky effect to show off. I wanted to add a mouse over technique to a photo so you would see the original without any editing if you ran your mouse over the photo. Jill from Jillsy Girl Studio featured this on her site twice this week. Yesterday I tried it and couldn’t get it to work. If you get notified of my new postings, you probably received a note; however, I removed it since it didn’t work. Then I asked Geri from My Heart Art to help. She has a Geek Alert section on her blog filled with lots of help and ideas. After hearing from Geri, I worked again this morning for about an hour on just 3 little lines of html code without much luck. Finally I gave in and went to wordpress support only to discover that wordpress.com does not support the mouseover technique. I need to use the non-free version. :-( Oh well, I guess I just won’t dazzle you guys with my technical ability right now. But a big thanks go to Jill for getting me interested and to Geri for her quick help! I now know how to do this, but I need my blog hosted in a site that supports it.

The photos I want to share were from a walk yesterday morning through the Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. I met my friend Gwenn there around 9:30am yesterday before the temperature touched the 100 degree mark. Here’s a sampling of the wonderful colors blooming there:

"The Bee and the Coneflower"

“Brown Eyed Susan” Daisy

“Texas Star Hibiscus”

Golden Dewdrops

“Hidden Ginger”

“A Splash of Purple”

I saw the quote I added to the photo below on a supporter sign in the Botanic Gardens.

Kim Klassen’s “Love” and “Aurora” Textures applied

I came home and found the lovely poem that contains the quote.

God’s Garden

The Lord God planted a garden
In the first white days of the world,
And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the wren,
For there in the cool of the even
God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden-closes
With their shade and their sun-flecked sod
And their lilies and bowers of roses,
Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,–
One is nearer God’s heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden
Under the olive-trees
Where the angel of strength was the warden
And the soul of the world found ease.

- Dorothy Frances Gurney (1858 – 1932)

We only have one or two drought resistant blooms around our home. What’s blooming at yours?

Jill, Most of the ginger blooms were rather withered from the heat and lack of rain. These were still very beautiful. I assume they are called “Hidden Ginger” since their blooms are so close to the stalk and hidden among the green leaves. The Ginger Garden at the Arboretum smelled so wonderful despite the dying blooms.

Oh I recognize your images from Picture Inspiration…thanks for stopping my blog. Hope your weather cools off soon. My brother lives in Galveston Bay, but he can’t stand the heat so he is heading back to Colorado.

Thanks for stopping by, Deanna :-) I really like the Picture Inspiration Class — wish I had a bit more time to devote to it and my blog. I would love to run from this heat too; however, our jobs keep us here and with today’s economy, making a change is a rather scary thing right now. Come visit me again any time! :-)